Passenger ferry coming to Ocracoke

Thursday

Expected to be completed by mid-summer 2018, a U.S. work boats ferry project is underway in Hubert.

North Carolina’s first passenger ferry is under construction.

The passenger ferry, a $9.1 million project by the North Carolina Department of Transportation ferry division, contractor RK&K engineering and U.S. Workboats, will have a capacity of 100 people.

The ferry will service Hatteras and Ocracoke, which only operates a 36-car automobile ferry for now.

The ferry is in the fabrication stage, with the aluminum skeleton being put together in the U.S. Workboats shipyard in Hubert.

According to Jed Dixon, N.C. Transportation ferry division deputy director, all of the aluminum being used on the vessel is domestically sourced, because the project is receiving $5.3 million in federal funding. The remaining $3.8 million is from the state.

“They’re a little bit behind on contract, but I’ve seen a lot of progression in the last couple weeks,” Dixon said. While the ferry has been in the works since 2015, construction did not begin until January.

Crews are cutting metal and welding the skeleton together in this stage, working with about half of the hull constructed and positioned upside down.

It is expected to be finished in July or August.

The idea behind the ferry is to give tourists another way to Ocracoke, and possibly serve as an emergency evacuation vessel, and comes following an altered ferry route due to shoaling that nearly doubled the travel time, according to U.S. Workboats.

Besides giving tourists a ride, NCDOT Ferry Division Director of Multi-Modal Transportation Julie White, said the vessel will be a tourist experience in of itself.

The 92- foot ferry will offer concessions and television on board for the trip to the island, as well as bike racks for adventurous tourists.

“It’s a whole new way to experience Ocracoke,” White said.

With a 25 percent decrease in tourism to Ocracoke last year, White said the new ferry should encourage a healthy rate of tourism and help an area so dependent on the summer season.

Tickets for the ferry, which is expected to be waterbound by mid-summer, will be $15 round-trip and available online -- another way the project is geared toward tourists.

“I think this just keeps up with today’s expectations,” White said.

With a modern trip in mind, the passenger ferry will also be faster than the automobile ferry.

Ed Timoney, project manager of the ferry, said it will be able to reach speeds of 30 knots.

The automobile ferry travels between 8-12 knots.

Timoney said the design of the ferry lends itself to quicker travel, with a lightweight body and lots of horsepower.

The vessel will use four engines, for over 2,400 horsepower total. The other difference are jets attached to the engine, called jet propulsion, which amounts to greater speed.

“For that kind of speed range, you have to water jets, props just don’t get you there,” Timoney said.

Harold Thomas, director of the NCDOT ferries, said the project is very exciting.

“It’s exciting to see what the summer’s going to be for ENC,” Thomas said.

Jobs will be opening to operate the ferry once it enters harbor, although the department of transportation and HMS will make up most of the crew in its first year.

Thomas said people will be needed in customer service and security positions, which will create about 10 jobs.

Overall, though, Thomas said the project is a tremendous opportunity for ENC and the department of transportation.

“It’s not just looking at transportation today, but looking at future systems,” Thomas said.

Reporter Kelsey Stiglitz can be reached at 910-219-8453 or kstiglitz@JDNews.com.

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